Emergency Response

FIRE SUPPRESSION & OTHER CALLS FOR SERVICE
The Mount Prospect Fire Department is responsible for providing fire suppression services within the Village of Mount Prospect as well as parts of unincorporated Cook County that are part of the Forest River Fire Protection District. The Department provides this service with 69 firefighters, operating out of three fire stations. On a daily basis, these firefighters operate one tower, three frontline engines/trucks, three ambulances and a command vehicle. Firefighters work 24 hour shifts, ensuring that the community is protected around the clock. In 2016, the Fire Department responded to approximately 2,000 non-EMS related calls for service. This includes structure fires, other fires, hazardous situations, false alarms and service calls.

The Department is also responsible for providing emergency response in specialty areas such as hazardous materials, technical rescue (above and below ground) and water rescue and recovery. As a result, the Department maintains one special response team in each of these areas. Personnel assigned to these teams receive specialized training every year, corresponding to their team.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE (EMS)
Providing Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has become is vital part of what the Fire Department does each and every day. On average, between 65 and 70 percent of the Department's calls for service are medical requests. In 2016, Mount Prospect paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responded to over 4,000 EMS calls. Mount Prospect paramedics respond to medical emergencies using three frontline and one reserve ambulance as well as three frontline and one reserve advanced life support engines/truck. These vehicles allow the Department to assist residents quickly and efficiently during an emergency.

Since the inception of the paramedic program in 1972, all of the Department's firefighters have also been required to be both EMT and paramedic certified. This requirement gives the Department flexibility as its entire operations staff is cross-trained to provide both fire suppression and EMS care. In addition to their initial certification, paramedics have to participate in a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education training per year and renew their licenses every four years. As a result of this continuous training, paramedics today are performing tasks and using equipment not even imagined back in 1972.

For more information, call the Fire Administration Offices at 847/870-5660.